So we know (now) that being in the wilderness isn’t necessarily due to evildoers. God may also send us, rather lead us, to the wilderness. We might not be wholly okay with that, but as followers of Christ, we try to accede. However, like me, you might choose to ask, ‘Why, though?’ Erm, are you sure you want the answer? Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Luke 4:1-2 AMP
[1] Now Jesus, full of [and in perfect communication with] the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness [Matt 4:1-11]
[2] for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they ended, He was hungry. [Deut 9:9; 1 Kin 19:8]
Luke 4:1-2 CEB
[1] Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.
[2] There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving.
Luke (Luk) 4:1-2 CJB
[1] Then Yeshua, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, returned from the Yarden and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
[2] for forty days of testing by the Adversary. During that time he ate nothing, and afterwards he was hungry.
Led for Testing by the Adversary
Yes. You weren’t seeing doubles. One version says,
for forty days of testing by the Adversary.
Another says ‘…He was tempted for forty days by the devil;
and the first says, He was led by the Spirit … for forty days, being tempted by the devil.‘
However we read it, it says that Y’shua Jesus was tempted by the devil (Adversary) with the Spirit’s knowledge and permission. God took Jesus to the Wilderness-a lonely and desolate place-to be tested BY the enemy of our souls for forty days.
Eh sibling, that’s serious business right there. We know that that time was also a season of fasting. He ate Nothing over that forty day period. Nothing at all. Might we also equate fasting with testing? A time for us to be tested by the devil.
Self-Check
Have we taken time to fast and found ourselves inundated with various temptations, and felt guilty for being tempted? The temptation is one part of the equation. Succumbing is the real test.
Application
God’s decision to have Jesus tested or tempted seems harsh. Why would God do such a thing? Might I remind us that Jesus was wholly, totally, and fully human. Thus, temptations were part of His experience. 1 Corinthians 10 tells us that everyone of us faces temptation. But it doesn’t end there. Paul assures us that God does NOT allow us to be tempted beyond our limits.
In other words, the temptation proves to us that we can withstand. It is a fair fight. There is no wilderness, no temptation we face that God does not already know that we have the strength to endure and the spiritual fortitude to overcome. Regardless of how long the season, because God is with us, our redemption is possible.
Siblings, like Adam, like Eve, like countless others … like Y’shua, our human nature will be led, BY God’s Spirit. And at that moment, we have to make a choice – for God’s way, or the Adversary. I pray we choose God’s way. For that to happen, we choose the way out – fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2). With Him who opted to not sin in the wilderness, we too can overcome any temptation.
Point to Ponder
How do we fix our eyes on Jesus?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
